As treaties and trade agreements are implemented this year, more U.S. companies are looking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for fresh business opportunities. Fortunately, a whole host of logistics and transportation service providers are laying the groundwork to overcome inherent infrastructure challenges.

Today, U.S. trucking companies face more regulations than any time in history—and they claim this “regulatory tsunami” is putting the clamp on U.S. productivity. During this session shippers will gain a better understanding of the current state of trucking regulations (HOS & CSA) and the impact they're having on capacity and rates.

UPS also announced that in June it is rolling out a new direct weekly flight from Guam to Hong Kong, which connects Guam to the rest of the world.

Company officials said that since this hub has been open for business it has made improvements to more than 100 intra-Asian lane pairs since May 2010, which are comprised of faster transit times on key lanes between India and the rest of Asia and between South Korea and other Asian destinations.

The hub was previously located in Clark, Philippines. UPS has had control of its international express operations in China since 2005. The $180 million facility connects all major Asian points for the transport of intra-Asia volume, according to company officials.

“With the Shenzhen Asia Pacific Air Hub, our biggest winners here are our customers,” said Derek Woodward, president of UPS Asia Pacific Region, in an interview. “Their goods can either arrive earlier or they can enjoy later pick-up times to accommodate last-minute orders.

Woodward said that with China being seen as the “world’s manufacturer,” the Shenzhen Asia Pacific Air Hub, strategically located at Shenzhen Baoan International Airport in China’s Pearl River Delta, offers a new level of service to the manufacturing region located just north of Shenzhen with service enhancements adding routes and capacity to drive volume.

And in its first year of operation, Woodward said the hub has made multiple service enhancements possible for Asia-Pacific customers, including:
-Beijing customers now benefiting from improved time-in-transit and later cut-off times to cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo & Osaka;
-the key Indian cities of New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have seen reduced time-in-transit to destinations like Australia, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Vietnam;
-shipments bound from Seoul to major cities like Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore and Tokyo now benefit from later cut-off times.

The nearly 1-million square-foot hub is comprised of an express customs handling unit, sorting facilities, cargo handling and cargo build-up areas and ramp handling operations. UPS said it can currently process up to 18,000 pieces per hour and can expand to a capacity of 36,000 pieces per hour.

New Guam service: The new UPS weekly Guam flight will offer service to the express package, military and forwarder communities and provide capacity for the Asia export market, said Woodward.

About the Author

Jeff BermanGroup News Editor

Jeff Berman is Group News Editor for Logistics Management, Modern Materials Handling, and Supply Chain Management Review. Jeff works and lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where he covers all aspects of the supply chain, logistics, freight transportation, and materials handling sectors on a daily basis. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Subscribe to Logistics Management magazine

Subscribe today. It's FREE!

Get timely insider information that you can use to better manage yourentire logistics operation.

Recent Entries

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported this week that U.S. trade with its North America Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico in January dropped 1.2 percent to $89.3 billion.

In today's supply chain, the only constant is change.
Our white paper 'Change Your Perspective: Four Keys to Effectively Adapting to Rapid Change in the Distribution Center Environment' provides key insights on not only adapting to trends, but which trends will enable you to achieve running the warehouse of the future.